Europe editor of the Guardian who covered the Solidarity strikes in Poland, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of Putin and the Greek euro crisis Ian Traynor, who has died aged 60 of cancer, was the Guardian’s Europe editor and one of the great journalists of the period following the end of the cold war. An outstanding linguist, Ian was a man of the European continent and a passionate believer in the cause of its union, on the basis of both his professional experience and personal essence. In a recent conversation, he and I wondered how we would have reacted to being told in 1991, in the ruins of Vukovar, the town in eastern Croatia devastated by Serbian forces – which Ian covered unforgettably – that within 25 years this place would be in the European Union, but Britain would be on its way out. In 2003, Ian was appointed Europe editor, based in Zagreb and later in Brussels, where, said his colleague Simon Tisdall: “His performance was truly outstanding. No other correspondent could surpass his understanding and contacts.” Continue reading...
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